


there's a ghost upon the moor tonight

by Madalena



Series: Around the World in 80 Dates [3]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Arachnophobia, Carnival, Celebrating Relationship Milestones, Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, Future Fic, Haunted Houses, Ice Cream, International Travel, M/M, Portals Rock, Ragnor Fell (mentioned) - Freeform, Tiny bit of Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-22 22:38:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12492376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madalena/pseuds/Madalena
Summary: Magnus and Alec celebrate moving in together with a date to a carnival, where both ice cream and haunted houses take unexpected turns.





	there's a ghost upon the moor tonight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SmudleyKAM](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmudleyKAM/gifts), [MouseBouse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MouseBouse/gifts).



> Title is from Gabrielle Aplin’s “Start of Time”. I learned about this song from a lovely Malec video with this song on YouTube, watch it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJA3a6UJwNk)!
> 
> Happy Halloween! This is for SmudleyKAM and MouseBouse, who guessed the last date location as Durness, Scotland, and provided the prompts “a peach” and “a funfair/carnival”.
> 
> As is tradition for this series, the city where the date takes place is intentionally left without a name, and if you are the first person to guess the place correctly, you get to name a theme that you want to appear in the next date!fic that I write. So get to guessing!
> 
>  **Warning:** Brief mention of Alec’s spell-induced suicide attempt. And read the tags if you've got any phobias!

Alec sighed, leaning back against the door of the loft. _Home_. It was such a wonderful feeling, finally officially living outside the Institute.

Living with _Magnus_.

There were plenty of people in Idris who disliked the fact that the Head of the New York Institute lived with the High Warlock of Brooklyn, but he refused to care about them anymore. There was no Clave law that dictated that the Head had to live in the Institute. Not to mention that co-habitating with a warlock meant that he could have a Portal back to the Institute in any emergency that presented itself.

But today they had plans to use a Portal for something much more fun. They hadn’t been on a travel date in awhile, and Alec was excited to see where they would go this time.

“Someone’s home early.” Magnus said, walking into the entryway, giving Alec a soft kiss.

“Yeah.” Alec said, wrapping his arms around Magnus’ waist and pulling him in close. “No demon alerts, and I was sick of dealing with the Clave.”

“They’re still angry about your living arrangements?”

“ _Our_ living arrangements. They are. But there’s nothing they can do about it. I love you, and I want to live with you.”

Magnus beamed. “I’m glad to hear it. Did you want to head out early? If we leave now, we can get a few more rides in.”

Alec raised an eyebrow. “Rides? Like that carousel in Central Park?”

“Oh, there’s much more than that. Even some things that could scare a big bad Shadowhunter like you.”

Alec crossed his arms. “You think you can scare me? I fight _demons_ for a living, Magnus. I don’t think one of your rides will scare me.”

“We shall see.” Magnus said mysteriously. “Shall we get going? There will be plenty to eat there.”

“Let’s do it.”

Alec held on tight, and they stepped through a Portal -

\- into absolute chaos.

Alec was used to Portal travel, but the sheer number of blinking and flashing lights surrounding them, and all the _sounds_ \- screeching metal, music, hundreds of people chatting and yelling to each other - disoriented him, and he squeezed Magnus’ hand tighter. New York was organized chaos that he was used to, this was just… chaos.

“Hey, you okay?” Magnus asked.

“Yeah, it’s just, I’ve never been in a place like this before. Didn’t know it would be so… busy.”

“We can go somewhere else if you’d rather.”

“No, it’s fine. I believe you had a challenge to complete.” Alec winked.

“Right, scaring the big bad Shadowhunter.” Magnus kissed Alec’s Deflect rune. “Let’s begin.”

Magnus carefully guided them away from the ride they’d arrived next to, called the Hangover, which took people high into the air and then dropped them back down to the ground.

The memories of the night of Max’s rune ceremony still haunted Magnus’ dreams.

Wandering for awhile, Magnus surveyed the other options available to him, before finally settling on one. They rode a dizzying series of roller coasters, which lit up Alec’s eyes in excitement. Stumbling off the last one, Alec nuzzled into Magnus’ neck, laughing in a way that Magnus rarely heard.

“That was fun.” Alec breathed. “I never thought that something like this, something so… mundane… could be so exhilarating.”

“Thinking of giving up your job as Head of the Institute to become a carny?”

“It would probably be safer.” Alec admitted. “But that would mean operating the rides, wouldn’t it? Not riding them?”

“Alas.”

“Can’t win them all I suppose.” Alec sniffed the air. “There’s food around here somewhere, isn’t there?”

“There is. Won’t have all the deep-fried delicacies that you would find in similar American fairs, but still a good selection of unhealthy food. And, of course, beer.”

“Naturally. They drink a lot of beer here?”

“Practically the national drink. Though if you really want to drink beer in this country, we should go further south, where there are festivals known for it. But that festival isn’t as old as this one. This one is even older than me.”

“Older than you? How long has this been going on?”

“The first fair here was granted in 1035. Of course, it would have been different then. More market, less entertainment. But it has been happening ever since.”

“Impressive.”

Magnus pressed a kiss to Alec’s cheek. “So shall we go explore our food options?”

“Yeah, but can we get out of… here?” Alec waved his arms around. “I want a bit of space. With just you.”

“Well, the city is pretty packed during this festival, but I know a place where we might be able to get a bit more air. But after, we’re coming back and I’m taking you on the ride through the haunted house.”

Alec rolled his eyes. “Like one of those mundane houses could scare me.”

“Don’t underestimate the power of a mundane who wants to make grown men shriek in terror.”

“Whatever you say.”

Magnus took Alec’s elbow and walked them away from the main festival grounds, through the train station, across a canal and into the old part of the city. Alec started to feel hungry as they walked past a variety of restaurants, but Magnus wasn’t stopping at any of them.

“Ah, here we go.” Magnus said, coming to a stop in front of what looked like an ice cream parlour. “Dinner and dessert will be right here.”

“Do they serve food besides ice cream?” Alec asked, surveying the establishment warily.

“Of course. And ice cream shaped like other meals too, if you’re interested.”

“Ice cream shaped like - what?” Alec asked, confused, as he followed Magnus inside and up to the second level. The shop was, thankfully, calmer and quieter than the the fairgrounds.

Magnus picked up the menu, which Alec already knew he couldn’t read.

“What do you recommend?” Alec asked.

“Well, I know you Shadowhunters like to stay fit and healthy, so a nice sandwich and salad should probably do, better than those unhealthy things at the festival.”

“I thought a night like this was all about being unhealthy?”

“Save that thought for dessert, love. Here is an example of what I was talking about.” Magnus opened the menu to a specific page and turned it to face Alec.

“Spaghetti?” Alec asked curiously.

“That’s not spaghetti. That’s ice cream made to look like spaghetti. Positively sinful.”

“Let’s eat a meal first, then return to dessert.”

A waitress came by once they finished perusing the menu, and Magnus gave her their meal orders. After a meal of simple salmon sandwiches and a mixed salad, Magnus handed Alec the dessert menu again.

“You don’t need to have the ice cream spaghetti if you don’t want to. There are plenty of other delectable desserts in there. But the ice cream spaghetti is a classic.”

“Could we share one? If we’re still going on some rides, I don’t want to be too stuffed.”

“We could. How about this one, with blueberry sauce, peaches and chocolate shavings?”

“Sure.”

As they waited for their dessert, Magnus took Alec’s hand, resting them on the table, rubbing circles on the back of his hand.

“You don’t regret it, do you?” Magnus asked quietly.

“Regret what? I might regret the ice cream if we go on another one of those rides that turns you upside down, but it’ll be all right as long as we don’t do that.”

“No, I mean moving in with me.”

“Magnus, why would I regret the second-best decision I ever made? You know I’ve wanted this for months. I love you. I regret nothing about that.” Alec leaned over the table, kissing Magnus on the lips.

Magnus smiled as Alec pulled back. “Second-best decision? What comes first?”

“Do you even have to ask?”

“I like hearing you say it.”

“Kissing you for the first time.” Alec held Magnus’ hand between both of his. “Giving us a chance.”

“I love you.”

Alec smiled. “I love you too.”

Their ice cream spaghetti arrived, and Alec’s eyes widened.

“Okay, this looks even bigger in person. Good thing we’re sharing.”

Magnus snagged a slice of peach first, while Alec grabbed a spoon and dove straight into the ice cream. It took them some time, but they did polish off the entire sundae.

Alec dropped his spoon, groaning as he leaned back in his chair. “I think the haunted house will have to be our last ride. Then I just want to sleep. So you’ve got just the once chance to scare me.”

“Fair enough. It might surprise you, what mundanes find frightening.”

They paid the bill and took their time walking back, wandering along the peaceful canal for a time, before diving back into the sounds and lights of the fair.

Magnus led the way to the haunted house - Daemonium - a name to which Alec just rolled his eyes.

“Really?” Alec asked. “They couldn’t do better than that? Most mundanes haven’t even met a demon.”

“Strap in, Shadowhunter. You don’t know what you’ll see in here.”

The automatic lap bar descended, locking them into their seats. Alec settled back into his seat, folding his hands in his lap, looking unimpressed as he surveyed the dark tunnel that they were approaching.

The track curved into the tunnel, and as the darkness enveloped them, lights illuminated a model of a large demonoid creature in a cage. Alec sat up straighter.

“I thought mundanes didn’t see demons. Not the way those of us with the Sight see demons, at least.”

“They don’t.”

“Then how do you explain that?”

Magnus took a closer look at the model as their car trundled past. “Well, that does certainly appear to look like a Dahak demon. Not a real one, of course, but a model of one.”

“Magnus…” Alec warned.

“It’s possible that someone was careless with their Codex, or some other book that describes demons, leaving them in a public place where a mundane picked it up. But it also resembles an alien creature from a mundane movie. Don’t worry about it, Alexander.”

They passed by a few more caged models that looked like more familiar demons, and Alec was getting more and more uneasy. The models looked too much like real demons for it to be a coincidence.

Alec breathed a bit easier when they emerged back outside for some seconds, but then they were plunged back into darkness again, this time surrounded by mundane objects of terror, such as serial killers and spooky graveyards. Alec was about to relax and sit back when he spotted a movement out of the corner of his eye, high up in the rafters, out of a mundane’s field of sight.

The skittering noise, the chattering teeth that he could hear over the music and the shouts of the people in the cars behind them… he knew what was there.

“Magnus, please summon my bow and arrows. I have a seraph blade but I’d rather have my bow.” Alec whispered, pulling his stele out of his pocket.

“Alexander, relax, it’s just the ride.”

Alec’s eyes tracked the demon across the ceiling. He was certain now.

“It isn’t the ride. There’s a real Shax demon up there.”

“Alexander, if you’re scared, it’s okay. Don’t be embarrassed.”

Alec saw the Shax demon drop.

Directly above Magnus.

Alec’s heart was in his throat as he scrawled an Open rune on the lap bar, pushing it out of the way frantically so he could free his seraph blade, running the Shax demon through when it was just inches from Magnus’ throat.

It exploded in a shower of black dust, making them both cough. Magnus’ hand went to his throat, rubbing the skin, making sure he was uninjured.

Alec put his blade away, and pulled the lap bar back into place as the ride started moving again. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Magnus said faintly. “Thank you. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

“Well, it’s dead now. I don’t hear any others, so it might have just been a fluke. But when we get home you’re telling me where we are, so I can send a message to the Institute here, asking them to investigate this ride. Too many demons for it to be a coincidence.”

Magnus nodded, hand still at his throat, gaze still a million miles away. Alec took Magnus’ other hand, rubbing it between his. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I - it just reminded me of - of Ragnor. How he died. Shax demon tore out his throat.”

“I’m sorry.” Alec pressed his lips to Magnus’ forehead, holding him tightly, ignoring the rest of the ride. Magnus had told Alec about Ragnor, how Ragnor had died when they’d gone to him in search of the Book of the White, but he hadn’t gone into detail about how he’d died.

“It’s because of him that we’re here though, you know.” Magnus whispered.

“It is?”

Magnus nodded, wiping away a tear. “His ghost came to me while I was looking through his things, trying to find what would lead us to the Book. He told me that someday, someone would come along who would tear down the walls I’d built around my heart. And that I should do everything in my power to fight for that love.”

“That was- I mean, was that the night-”

“Night of your wedding? It was. He was the one who gave me the inspiration to crash it.”

“Next time you see his ghost, tell him I’m thankful for it.”

Magnus smiled, looking off into the distance, which was now filled with yet another graveyard scene, tombstones and animatronic skeletons draped in cobwebs. “He knows. He wants me to be happy with you, not be moping over him. So let’s get back to our game, shall we?”

“I think you won. I did get scared, but only because a real demon was about to kill you.” Alec ran his hand over Magnus’ cheek, pressing their lips together softly.

“I can’t count that. The demon was not a part of the ride.”

The ride emerged back out into the loading area, and clanked to a stop.

“Well, here we are.” Alec said, standing up as the lap bar disengaged. He stepped out of the ride, reaching a hand to Magnus to help him out.

Once they’d stepped away from the ride, Magnus made a face as he looked at his outfit. The demon dust was still scattered everywhere, and he made a displeased noise as he brushed it off.

Alec helped get some last bits off Magnus’ shoulders, and then Magnus turned his attention to him, brushing dust off of Alec’s chest. Magnus fiddled with Alec’s collar some more, making the back of his neck tickle, and drew his hands away, smiling up at Alec.

But the tickling on the back of his neck didn’t stop.

Alec froze, looking at Magnus. Magnus looked back at him curiously.

“What’s wrong, Alexander?”

“What’s on the back of my neck?”

Magnus frowned and moved to look. “Oh, it must have just dropped onto you in the ride.”

“ _What_ dropped on me in the ride?” Alec asked with tension in his voice.

“Nothing to worry about, it’s just a little spider.”

Alec’s eyes widened in panic, and he swatted frantically at the back of his neck, spinning in a circle as he surveyed his hands and the ground. “Is it gone? Is it gone now? Is it gone?”

Magnus bit his lip to keep from laughing, but a snicker did escape from his throat. “It’s gone, Alexander. Are you telling me that a big bad Shadowhunter like you is afraid of _spiders_?”

Alec blushed. “Yes.” He mumbled, not meeting Magnus’ eyes.

“You fight demons on a daily basis, but a tiny spider frightens you?”

“Don’t rub it in, it’s embarrassing.”

“Oh, Alexander.” Magnus breathed, pulling Alec in close. “Don’t you ever change.”

Magnus rested his head against Alec’s chest, feeling Alec’s arms coming to wrap around him. He smiled to himself, thinking back to the last minutes of the ride.

It appeared that the dead were onto something. For when Ragnor had appeared standing in the animatronic graveyard, also covered in cobwebs, and winking at him, Magnus had felt that a spider could be Alec’s undoing, but he hadn’t actually _believed_ it until he saw Alec’s reaction.

And if Magnus was responsible for the spider that had landed on Alec, well, no one had to know.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment with your guesses! (And yes, ice cream spaghetti is real! The places they visit and food that they eat on the dates I write in this series are based on real experiences in my own travels.)


End file.
